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Healthy Body

Why We Should All be Drinking Green Tea

September 17, 2018 - By Aine Freeman (Contributor)

Why the government hasn’t made drinking green tea three times a day compulsory is beyond me. This green magic potion is something I only recently was introduced to and since then have never looked back. I had always heard that green tea was beneficial but until I researched it I didn’t realise just how much benefits it did have. No it doesn’t taste amazing but either does tequila and you down that like there’s no tomorrow. So read this list and get drinking!

1. Weight loss: The bane of every girl’s existence. And believe it and not green tea is probably your best hope of being able to strut your stuff around the beach this summer. Green tea contains antioxidants, catechins and caffeine which have a role in helping the body burn more calories – sometimes referred to as speeding up the metabolism – which helps you to lose weight faster. Of course, green tea isn’t going to make that stone fall off by itself but mixed with exercise and a healthy (enough) diet it will definitely speed up the process.

2. Liver disease: Yes, it’s true green tea has been proven to protect against the effects of alcohol on your liver, so it’s basically your new best friend. The antioxidants that it contains lower chronic inflammation within your body and allowed you to digest alcohol better, making it less harmful to your health.

3.Tones skin, hair, and muscles – This is another way to topically use green tea. You don’t even have to drink it to get some of its benefits. When applied to the hair it can help it grow stronger. When you drink it, it should help your muscles function at more optimal levels, since it helps them contract. If you want healthier gums it is said that you can simply rinse green tea in your mouth and you’ll see an improvement of gum health.

4. Reduces unhealthy blood sugar – Your blood sugar levels play a big part in your overall health, and should not be overlooked. They are another factor that can mean the difference between weight loss and weight gain and are often a precursor to conditions like diabetes. Green tea has been shown to keep them in check by lowering them due to the presence of polyphenols and polysaccharides. The catechins it contains also helps round things out, making this a great drink for maintaining healthy glucose levels.

5. Reduces stress – The theanine in green tea has been shown to produce a calming effect. The only thing is that in order for you to feel less stressed from drinking green tea, you’ll have to drink several cups of it, up to six of them, but what else have you to be in doing in the library coming up to exam time?

6. Serves as a stimulating drink – Green tea can perk you up due to the caffeine it contains. This is caffeine from a natural source, not the kind you find in soft drinks, and in smaller amounts than in a cup of coffee. So you don’t have to worry about getting the jitters unless you drink a ton of it. But it can provide a nice pick-me-up in addition to its other health benefits. It can serve as a healthier replacement for coffee and other “energy” drinks.

7. Helps with toothache pain – Because of the antibacterial properties of green tea, you can sometimes get toothache pain relief by swishing some in your mouth. Be sure that you brew a strong batch, letting the tea steep for a long time to get as many nutrients out of it as possible. This is not a cure, but a way to provide temporary relief to the area.

8. Boosts immunity – Give your immune system a boost by drinking green tea. The catechins in green tea (the same things that help prevent cancer) also help keep you from getting sick. They do this by creating an antibacterial state within the body, leaving you less prone to bacterial and viral infections.

9. Prevents wrinkles – OK, so maybe this is not a serious issue of ours at the moment but its never too early to start planning for the future. Since green tea is so dense with antioxidants it’s the best bang for your buck as far as anti-ageing goes. Several factors of ageing hinge on free radical damage, and getting wrinkles is one of them. By keeping your body full of antioxidants it reduces the likelihood of getting wrinkles so you can stay looking younger for longer.

10. Fights cancer-causing cells – The catechins in green tea are special antioxidants that seek out and destroy things called ‘free radicals’ that can do harm to the body’s DNA, setting the stage for cancerous growths. It sounds a bit like a Space Age battle, but it’s actually going on inside your body on a daily basis. That’s why it’s important to get a good number of antioxidants each day, to cut down on the free radical damage and improve your chances of staying cancer-free.